May 19, 2013

I recently was in Vegas and tried the new Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar's Palace, which replaced my beloved Lago. Like most buffets, the selection varies depending on time of day, but is also updated from time to time. Throughout the course of the day, over 500 items are made available and I aimed to sample as much of the lunch set as possible.

It was $34.99 for lunch on a weekday (It used to be considerably less; they've raised the price four times since the buffet opened in September of last year. Dinner is now around the $45 mark). You can get like a buck off if you're a Total Rewards (Harrah's/Caesar's loyalty program) member.

Overall, I probably ate or took a bite of over 50 dishes. I actually tried more dishes than I can list and but here are the one's that stood out for me (from good to bad to interesting):

Thumbs up!

Gelato - there are unique, tasty flavors like Balsamic Fig and Vanilla Fleur de Sel (sea salt vanilla). Plus, it won't fill you up too much so you'll have room for the overwhelming variety of food to try.

Anything deep-fried, especially the fried chicken, which came with a thick and deliciously crunchy shell while remaining juicy and flavorful.

Pizza - surprise I know. Most buffet pizza is only just okay, but the Bacchanal's pizza, while maybe a bit overly cheese for thin-crust, had just the barest crisp crust and a soft crumb. The toppings are notably premium deli quality. The garlic knots and pepperoni pinwheels were good as well (but not as good as the pizza).

Brisket (below) - perfectly smoked and tender. No sauce necessary.

Sausage - yummy artisanal sausages.

The fresh juice bar has a decent selection (six choices) and were all refreshingly good.

Kalbi (Korean short ribs) - tasty and the most tender I've ever had.

Nice

Coffee comes in a vacuum pot that stayed hot for the entire two and a half hours I was sampling everything possible.

Cured Meats and Cheese - a good selection of quality cured meats and cheeses.

Crepe Station - I've seen these at other buffets, but they're always nice to have.

Taco station - no, not Taco Bell-style crunchy tacos, but traditional tacos with small corn tortillas filled simply with meat, onions, cilantro, and red sauce. They even give you a wedge of lime and radish. It's much like you'd get from a taco truck (except it'll only cost you $1 to $2 per taco at a taco truck, so you'd have to eat quite a bit of them here to get your money's worth).

Roasted Turkey Breast - flavorful and oh-so-juicy.

Bread selection - fresh and plenty to choose from.

Misses

Fried Rice - filling carbs; it dries up fast under the heat lamps and is not so good.

Mac and Cheese - not bad, but very run-of-the-mill and it'll fill you up.